April 4 news

Published by jwettschreck on Friday, April 4th, 2014

WORTHINGTON – The 10th annual Worthington Bioscience conference continues today at the event center, with a planned appearance from Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, as well as key note speaker Doug Berven, vice president of corporate affairs at Poet. A panel discussion regarding lessons learned from commercializing innovation will take place, and the Worthington Middle School Science Club students will present their exhibits.

SPENCER, Iowa - The Clay County Sheriff's Office is investigating an incident in which multiple shots were fired at a pickup in Gillett Grove. Authorities say multiple .22 caliber rounds were fired into a 2002 Ford F250 while it was parked near 110 5th Street. It's believed the incident took place between March 25th-28th. It was reported to authorities March 30th.

No injuries were reported in the incident. Authorities are looking for the shooter and are requesting anyone with information contact them. They say their investigation into the incident is ongoing.

OKOBOJI, Iowa - A lively crowd gathered Wednesday evening at Rabab's at Brooks Golf Course in Okoboji where the Okoboji RAGBRAI committees were assembled to present their theme and logo design.

Executive Board member Carina Woodward made the announcement that the theme will be "Ride the Chain" and presented the logo design, which depicts the Iowa Great Lakes, bordered by a bike chain.

She noted that the official Okoboji RAGBRAI tee shirts are now available for sale, with two options available.

The logo design, tee shirts and details on the RAGBRAI overnight stop in the Iowa Great Lakes area on July 20 may now be found on the website: www.okobojiragbrai.com.

SPIRIT LAKE, Iowa - Five juveniles face drug, alcohol and tobacco charges following a traffic stop March 28th in Dickinson county. The Sheriff's Office says a deputy pulled over a vehicle in the 1200 block of Highway 9 that had been reported as traveling in excess of 100 mph. Upon approaching the vehicle a deputy could detect a strong odor of marijuana. A K-9 was deployed, resulting in authorities finding several baggies of marijuana, alcohol and tobacco in the vehicle.

The juveniles were transported to the Dickinson County Sheriff's Office where they were referred to juvenile court on charges of possession of a controlled substance...marijuana; possession of drug paraphernalia; minor in possession of alcohol; and minor in possession of tobacco. They were cited and released to the custody of their parents.

ALTON, Iowa — A little less than a month ago, we learned the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office was investigating a burglary and theft report from a home in rural Alton. Now a Le Mars man has been charged in the case.

When the homeowner had returned home he had found a pickup parked near his house. A white man got into the truck and drove off the yard at a high rate of speed.The homeowner realized his residence had been broken into and called the Sheriff’s Office.
Upon further investigation deputies discovered that the perpetrator had entered the residence through a locked door while no one was home. A safe and a camera with two external lenses were reported as stolen.

On Wednesday, April 2, the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office charged 36-year-old Chad Braun of Le Mars with Third Degree Burglary and Fourth Degree Theft. The investigation revealed that Braun was found to be in possession of stolen property taken from the home. Braun is currently detained in the Plymouth County Jail in Le Mars on other charges.

The charges are a result of a joint investigation of the Sioux, Plymouth, and Buena Vista County Sheriff’s Offices.

MINNESOTA - Anti-bullying legislation cleared its biggest hurdle at the state Capitol Thursday evening when the Minnesota Senate passed the bill 36-31.

As MPR reports, the bill requires school districts to investigate and track bullying cases and train teachers and some staff members in prevention.

Supporters of a new law have argued that the existing one is too weak to protect Minnesota students. Gay rights advocates in particular have been working on strengthening the law for a decade.

DFLers, who are in the majority in each chamber, made a new anti-bullying law one of their legislative priorities this session. But passing requirements down to local districts from the state Capitol is a sensitive matter.

The bill is one of the most controversial at the Capitol this year. Students who have committed suicide after being bullied helped draw attention to the issue. The author of the Senate bill, Scott Dibble of Minneapolis, said some bullied students stop going to school.

But some Republican critics consider the measure an unfunded mandate handed down from St. Paul. Senate Minority Leader David Hann said that in passing the bill lawmakers are telling school districts they can’t be trusted.

LETTERMAN - David Letterman says he's retiring next year as host of "Late Show."

During a taping of Thursday's show, Letterman said he has informed his CBS bosses that he will step down in 2015, when his current contract expires.

He told his audience he expects his departure will be "at least a year or so" from now.

Letterman turns 67 next week. He has the longest tenure of any late-night talk show host in U.S. television history, nearing 32 years since he created "Late Night" at NBC in 1982.